About This Lesson
For many musicians out there, one of the most rewarding experiences can be sharing their musical expertise with aspiring performers. Whether an education in music centers on playing an instrument like guitar, vocal performance/techniques, or the basics of music theory, teachers get to create specific lesson plans for their students that will help them excel in their craft. After spending years working hard to develop the skills they have today, many educators are passionate about helping others do the same. Coming up with the perfect music lesson plan can often seem daunting, but teachers just have to focus on leading with intention, direction, and authenticity in order to give proper guidance.
Share your Passion with a Target Audience
When teaching in any capacity, either in-person or online, it's important to develop plans and lists of objectives that match the skill-level and goals of the students on the receiving end. In other words, if a teacher knows they have a group of beginning students, they must appropriately adjust and establish a lesson plan with the intent of teaching the basics. Whether the group of students are young and just starting out in music or older students with newfound musical passions and interests, beginner instruction books that convey information in simplistic yet mature ways are available. Analyzing these as a new teacher can be helpful when learning how to present musical knowledge in clear, meaningful ways; after reading them, adding onto these with original ideas/examples that showcase artistry and unique aspects of performance can lead to a concise lesson plan for all levels.
Teaching that Translates through a Screen
Since technology in the 21st century has made teaching online possible and just as effective as being in a classroom, many students thrive when learning in this way. As a result, teachers must learn to adapt to these changes and make sure their teaching methods have the same impact on both their virtual students and traditional ones. When it comes to music education, a hands-on approach where tasks are physically exemplified by the teacher can be extremely beneficial. It is one thing to hear an instructor talk about reading music and playing piano, but to watch them and fully examine the proper methods they use is a different experience. Ensuring that demonstrating musical instruction and having the students repeat it through a webcam is part of the lesson plan can lead to students developing a deeper understanding of certain skills. For example, in watching their teacher physically navigate playing a piece on the piano, they can pick up on their body language/movement and in doing-so, it's been proven that this helps develop spatial intelligence and impacts the way the brain works.
Get Educated to Help Educate
A crucial part in inspiring other musicians to grow is continuing to learn simultaneously as a teacher. As talented and trained as one may be, no one knows everything and there is always a new opportunity to learn through experience. One way to do this is to study and work towards getting a masters in music education online. UF's program to achieve this can help current teachers combine music study with contemporary teaching methods to create more engaging lesson plans for their students. Not only does this enhance the skills of a music educator, but having a masters will add to their existing credibility as an online teacher, leading to more students in the future and thoroughly instructed lesson plans to go with them.
All in all, helping aspiring musicians is something that many who already have a love for music strive to do someday. In teachers taking the time to further their music education, it only reflects positively on their students. Developing meaningful and enticing lesson plans that are effective online helps ensure that the future of music is in good hands.
